Systems And Methods For Modifying Commercials

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses to deliver at least a portion of an advertisement to a viewer at normal playback speeds after receiving a command from the viewer to fast-forward through an advertisement faster than normal playback speeds are described. In one example, a portion of the advertisement may be delivered to be played at normal playback speeds, and the remaining portion may be delivered to be played at a playback speed that is faster than the specified playback speed so that the combination of the portions delivered at normal and faster playback speeds is delivered to the user at the specified playback speed. In another example, at least a portion of the first advertisement may be delivered at normal playback speeds, and one or more other advertisements may be delivered to the viewer simultaneously with the first advertisement with the audio information muted based on the specified playback speed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. Application No.15/332,299, filed Oct. 24, 2016, which is a continuation application ofU.S. Application No. 14/497,260, filed Sep. 25, 2014, which is acontinuation application of U.S. Application No. 12/062,498, filed Apr.3, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/921,813, filed Apr. 4, 2007, all of which are incorporated herein intheir entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of personal video recordingsystems. More particularly, the present invention relates to modifyingcommercials during fast-forward playback.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, personal video records (PVRs), such as thosemanufactured by TiVo, Inc. and those built-in to set-top boxes providedby local cable companies, have become readily available to consumers.Using a hard drive or storage device and software, a PVR allows atelevision viewer to pause, rewind, fast forward, or playback a livetelevision program that the viewer is watching. The PVR also allows thetelevision viewer to record a program, where the recorded program willbe stored on the PVR for future playback.

In addition to recording television programs, the PVR also records theadvertisements or commercials that are placed at given intervals duringthe broadcasted television programs. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, athirty-minute television program 100 may be divided into threeeight-minute segments with three two-minute advertisement or commercialgroups 110, 120. and 130. FIG. 1B shows that each two-minuteadvertisement or commercial group may include four thirty-secondcommercial spots 140, 150, 160, and 170 in succession.

However, the viewer that wishes to watch a program without interruptionoften considers these commercials a nuisance. Consequently, when theviewer plays back a recorded television program using the PVR, theviewer generally tends to fast forward through many or all of thecommercials that were also recorded. Using the PVR, the viewer has theoption of fast forwarding through these commercials at different rates -e.g., 2x speed in response to pressing the fast forward button once, 3xspeed in response to pressing the fast forward button twice, and 4xspeed in response to pressing the fast forward button three times.Generally, there is no audio playback when a viewer performs a fastforward operation. Thus, when fast forwarding through commercials, thecommercials are muted, the video images are accelerated at the rateselected by the viewer, and the interruption to viewing the recordedprogram is minimized.

Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods that overcomethese and other deficiencies in prior art systems.

For example, it would be desirable to allow viewers to fast forwardthrough recorded video, such as a commercial, while still providingadvertisers with an opportunity to present an advertising message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and advantages of the present invention canbe more fully appreciated with reference to the following detaileddescription of the invention when considered in connection with thefollowing drawing, in which like reference numerals identify likeelements.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a thirty-minute televisionprogram with commercial breaks.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a two-minute advertisement orcommercial sequence that is provided during one of the commercialbreaks.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are illustrative schematic diagrams showing a modifiedcommercial in response to a viewer action in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing multiple commercialsthat are simultaneously displayed in response to a viewer action inaccordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing multiple versions ofa commercial that are simultaneously displayed in response to a vieweraction in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative schematic diagram showing a commercial that isbeing displayed in response to a viewer selection from multiple,simultaneously displayed commercials in accordance with some embodimentsof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, a commercial modificationapplication (sometimes referred to herein as “the application”) isprovided. The application provides enhanced features for fast-forwardplayback through commercials while providing advertisers with anopportunity to present an advertising message in a space that wouldotherwise be skipped by viewers.

It should be noted that the application may be integrated with aninteractive television application that provides interactive services toa viewer. Interactive services may allow a viewer to change channels,record one or more television programs, playback recorded programs, etc.

It should also be noted that although the following embodiments of theinvention are described as relating to the playback of televisionprogram and media content from a personal video recorder, theseembodiments are not limited only to playback of content on a personalvideo recorder. The application may be implemented on any suitableequipment, such as, for example, a set-top box, a digital video recorder(DVR), a computer, a configuration in which a DVR or PVR is integratedwith a set-top box. etc. For example, the application may be implementedon a computer that is receiving streamed content. More specifically, theapplication may be embodied as a computer program product residing onone or more computer readable media, such a CD, DVD, hard drive, memorydevice, and the like, and instruct the related computer hardware (e.g.,PVR. set-top box, TV, personal computer, etc.) to carry out thefunctions described herein. As illustrated above, the term “computer”will generally refer to devices/equipments/hardware having at least amicroprocessor and a computer readable media that is capable ofdelivering one or more advertisements to a viewer.

The equipment may receive instructions from the viewer by any suitableinput device (e.g., a remote control, a keyboard, an on-screen approach,etc.). For example, instructions from a viewer may be received using aremote control that has multiple buttons, such as a fast-forward button,a rewind button, a play button, a record button, a pause button, a stopbutton, a skip commercial button, etc. The remote control allows theviewer to fast-forward and rewind at multiple speeds though televisioncontent.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the viewer is watching a television program. Thetelevision program may be a recorded program that is stored on the PVR.The television program may also be a live or broadcasted program thatthe viewer is currently tuned to and the PVR is concurrently storing theprogram as it is being broadcast in a local cache or other storagedevice.

The application is invoked in response to the viewer, for example,pressing the “fast-forward” button on the remote control once thetelevision program is at the first commercial break or upon displayingthe first commercial. Typically, such a viewer action causes the PVR tofast-forward through content (e.g., a television program, a commercial,etc.) at twice the playback. Instead, the application providesadvertisers with an alternate approach for providing an advertisingmessage.

In some embodiments, the application may detect when a commercial breakoccurs in the program sequence. In response to the viewer pressing the“fast-forward” button on the remote control during a commercial break,the application determines the length of the commercial, plays back aportion of the commercial in the initial playback speed (lx), andfast-forwards or increases the playback speed of the remainder of thecommercial. It should be noted that the application determines theplayback speed of the remainder of the commercial and compensates forthe initial playback such that the commercial ends at the same time asif the viewer had pressed the fast-forward button on the remote controland fast-forwarded through the entire commercial (e.g., at 2x speed).

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in response to pressing thefast-forward button once at the 8:00 minute mark of the televisionprogram, the application determines the length of the first commercial.Based on this determination, the application instructs the PVR toplayback a portion of the first commercial. As shown in FIG. 2B, theapplication has determined that the first ten seconds of a thirty-secondfirst commercial are to be shown (portion 250 of the first commercial).Upon providing the first ten seconds of the first commercial, theapplication may increase the playback speed of the remainder of thefirst commercial. As the viewer has pressed the fast-forward button onceto instruct the PVR to fast-forward through the commercial at 2x speed,the application determines that a fast-forwarded thirty-secondcommercial is to be shown in fifteen seconds. Accordingly, theapplication increases the playback rate of the remaining twenty secondsof the first commercial so that it is shown in the remaining fiveseconds.

In another suitable embodiment, the application may divide up thecommercial into different portions and playback each portion of thecommercial at different rates. For example, a thirty-second commercialmay be divided up into a five-second portion (the first portion), atwenty-second portion (the second portion), and five-second portion (thethird portion). The first portion and the third portion are played backin the initial 1x speed and the playback rate of the second portion isincreased such that the twenty-second portion is played back in fiveseconds (i.e., 4x speed). It should be noted that even though the firstand third portions are played back at lx speed, the playback of theentire commercial has not taken a longer time period than if the viewerfast-forwarded through the entire commercial at 2x speed.

In some embodiments, the application may divide up the commercial intodifferent portions based on the playback speed the viewer has selected(e.g., 2x fast-forward, 3x fast-forward, 4x fast-forward). For example,if the viewer selects to fast-forward through a thirty-second commercialat a rate of 3x fast-forward, the application may playback the first tenseconds of the commercial in 1x speed and not playback the remainder ofthe commercial. Note that the first ten second portion of the commercialthat is provided to the viewer has not taken a longer time period thanif the viewer fast-forwarded through the entire commercial at 3x speed.In another example, the application may playback the first five secondsand increase the playback rate of the remaining twenty-five seconds ofthe commercial such that it is played back in five seconds (i.e., 5xspeed).

It should also be noted that the invention is not limited to changingthe rate of the playback of a commercial in response to a viewer action(e.g., pressing the fast-forward button on the remote control) at thestart of a commercial break. The application may determine the playbackrate of the commercial at any point that a viewer action is received.For example, if the viewer has watched three seconds of a thirty-secondcommercial and then presses the fast-forward button on the remotecontrol, the application may determine a portion of the remainder of thecommercial to playback at one rate (e.g., 1x speed) and another portionof the remainder of the commercial to playback at another rate (e.g., 5xspeed, 10x speed, etc.).

It should also be noted that the application may then slow down, fadein, fade out, or any other suitable approach for transitioning to thestart of the next commercial. The application may similarly playback aportion of the next commercial and then increase the playback rate ofthe remainder of the next commercial.

Using the application, the result will be a commercial that plays in agiven time (e.g., five seconds, fifteen seconds, etc.) that satisfiesthe viewers’ expectation but allows an initial period of time for aviewer to see if the viewer is interested.

In some embodiments, the application may provide multiple commercialsconcurrently in response to the viewer pressing a fast-forward button onthe remote control or other suitable input device during a commercialbreak. In response, the application may determine the number ofcommercials that are to be provided in a given commercial break. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 3 , the application has determined that fourcommercials - i.e., a first commercial 310, a second commercial 320, athird commercial 330. and a fourth commercial 340 - are to be playedback during a given commercial break. The application may combine thecontent from the four commercials such that the four commercials areplayed back simultaneously (display 350).

In another suitable embodiment, the application may simultaneouslydisplay the first commercial and the second commercial and thensimultaneously display the third commercial and the fourth commercial.In some embodiments, the application may determine the number ofcommercials to simultaneously display based on the playback rateselected by the viewer. For example, in response to the viewer selectinga playback rate of 2x, the application may simultaneously display twocommercials (two thirty-second commercials displayed simultaneously inthirty seconds).

In some embodiments, the application may simultaneously display multipleversions of a commercial. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , in responseto the receiving a viewer action (e.g., the viewer pressing thefast-forward or rewind button on a remote control), the application mayprovide multiple versions of the commercial to the viewersimultaneously. Each commercial may have a different media segments(e.g., portions of audio, portions of video, background audio,voiceovers, images, animations, graphics, ending, etc.).

In another example, the application may provide the viewer with multiplecommercials from the same advertiser (e.g., each commercial is generatedby Comcast). In yet another example, the application may provide theviewer with multiple commercials for the same product or service (e.g.,each commercial relates to a particular Comcast service).

In response to providing the viewer with multiple commercialssimultaneously, the application may provide the audio track for one ofthe commercials. For example, the application may allow the viewer toplace a highlight region 510 over one of the displayed commercials. Asshown in FIG. 5 , the highlight region 510 has been placed over firstcommercial 310. In response to the viewer selecting first commercial 310by, for example, pressing a select button or other suitable interface,the application displays the first commercial to the viewer in display520. The application may display the remainder of the first commercial,the entire first commercial (e.g., the thirty-second spot), the firstcommercial with additional content (e.g.. coupon codes, personalizedcontent, additional information associated with the selected commercial,etc.), etc.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with audioduring the portions that are played back at a different rate (e.g.,fast-forwarded or rewinded at 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, etc.). With theadvent of digital audio, it may be computationally expensive to recreateanalog audio effects. In response to the application changing theplayback rale for a portion of the commercial as described above, theapplication may retrieve the audio for that portion of the commercialand adjust the pitch of the audio. The application can play most of thewords from the audio track, thereby removing a great deal of silencethat normally occurs during fast-forward or rewind playback.Accordingly, the application can provide viewers with a significantportion of the audio track without having to prepare the audio trackprior to playback.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acomplementary audio track that is particularly designated to be utilizedfor certain playback speeds. The complementary audio track may be theoriginal audio track associated with the video (as described above) orcan be a specialized audio track to be utilized for certain playbackrates. For example, when a viewer fast forwards or rewinds a commercial(e.g.. fast-forwarded or rewinded at 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 10x, etc.), theapplication may retrieve the complementary audio track for that portionof the commercial and playback the audio track, either in real-time orwith the pitch of the audio adjusted. Different complementary audiotracks may be designated for different fast-forward and/or rewind rates.The application can play the complementary audio track, thereby-removinga great deal of silence that normally occurs during fast-forward orrewind playback.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acommercial viewing option. In response to the receiving a viewer action(e.g., the viewer pressing the fast-forward or rewind button on a remotecontrol), the application may provide the viewer with a selection ofcommercials. For example, in response to the viewer pressing thefast-forward button, the application may provide the user with a listingof commercials, a listing of brands, a listing of products and services,a listing of series of commercials, and/or any other suitable listing.The application may request that the viewer select and view onecommercial or any other predetermined number of commercials prior toreturning to the recorded content. For example, the application mayprevent the viewer from fast-forwarding through the commercials andcontinuing to playback the program content until the viewer has selectedone commercial to watch. In another example, the application, in avideo-on-demand environment, may prompt the viewer to select from a listof commercials to view prior to downloading or viewing a selectedvideo-on-demand program. In yet another example, the application, in avideo-on-demand environment, may prompt the viewer to select from a listof commercials to download to the viewer’s equipment (e.g., a set-topbox) prior to downloading a selected video-on-demand program or prior toproviding the viewer with a list of available video-on-demand programs.

In some embodiments, the application may provide the viewer with acommercial viewing option in response to the viewer hitting a rewindbutton on the remote control. In response to the viewer pressing therewind button, the application may provide the user with a listing ofcommercials related to the commercial that the viewer watched. Forexample, when the viewer presses the rewind button after watching aTravel Channel commercial, the application may provide the viewer with aselectable list of Travel Channel commercials, where the list mayinclude the commercial that the viewer viewed or a series of commercialsrelating to the recently viewed commercial. In another example, inresponse to pressing the rewind button after watching a Travel Channelcommercial, the application may present the viewer with coupon codesrelating to travel, the Travel Channel, sponsors of the Travel Channel,and/or advertisers on the Travel Channel. Alternatively, the applicationmay provide the viewer with an option to view a different version of thecommercial or a subsequent commercial in a series of commercials.

It should be noted that the application may include digital rightsmanagement features. For example, the advertiser may require that apredetermined amount of their advertisements be viewed at given speeds(e.g., 20% of their commercials must be viewed by at least 1x and 30% oftheir commercials must be viewed by at least 2x), at given portions ofthe screen (e.g., 10% of their commercials must be viewed in full size,20% of their commercials must be viewed in at least split screen, etc.),etc.

In some embodiments, advertisers may set restrictions or parameters oneach of their commercials. These parameters may be embedded within thecommercial. For example, an advertiser may generate a commercial withthe parameters that at least the first ten seconds must be viewed andthat the commercial must be viewed in full screen. Theseparameter-embedded commercials may be transmitted to PVRs, where theprocessor of each PVR determines when a commercial is played back basedon when the embedded parameters are met.

In some embodiments, the application may track and monitor thepresentation of commercials to each PVR. For example, the applicationmay monitor that the entire series of Travel Channel commercials wereviewed in their entirety, ten seconds of a Verizon commercials wasviewed, and one Comcast commercial was viewed in split screen with aBurger King commercial. The application may monitor each commercial inits varying speeds and presentations from each PVR and transmit thisinformation to the operator of a database, where the database accountsfor payments to and from advertisers.

As described hereinabove. the application provides enhanced features formodifying commercials while providing advertisers with an opportunity topresent an advertising message in a space that would otherwise beskipped by viewers. One of ordinary skill would know how to utilizestandard algorithms to implement the processes of the present inventionbased on the information provided in this application.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and to the arrangements ofthe components set forth in the following description or illustrated inthe drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposeof description and should not be regarded as limiting.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in theforegoing exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the invention may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method comprising: receiving, from a computingdevice, a command for controlling playback of a media content; sending,to the computing device and based on the command, a plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; receiving, from the computingdevice, a request for playback of at least one selected advertisementfrom the plurality of advertisements; delivering, to the computingdevice and based on the request, at least a portion of the selectedadvertisement; and delivering, to the computing device, the mediacontent.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining anumber of the plurality of advertisements for simultaneous display basedon a playback speed associated with the command for controlling playbackof the media content.
 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:sending, to the computing device, a first subset of the plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; receiving, from the computingdevice, a first request for playback of a first selected advertisementfrom the subset of the plurality of advertisements; delivering, to thecomputing device, at least a portion of the first selected advertisementfrom the first subset; sending, to the computing device, a secondsubject of the plurality of advertisements for simultaneous display;receiving, from the computing device, a second request for playback of asecond selected advertisement from the subset of the plurality ofadvertisements; delivering, to the computing device, at least a portionof the second selected advertisement from the second subset.
 5. Themethod of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of advertisementsshares at least one content element in common with the media content. 6.The method of claim 2, wherein a duration of the portion of the selectedadvertisement corresponds to a level of user interest in the selectedadvertisement.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the pluralityof advertisements comprises a different version or media segments of acommon advertisement content.
 8. The method of claim 2, wherein each ofthe plurality of advertisements comprises a common advertising source.9. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality ofadvertisements comprises content associated with a common product orservice.
 10. The method of claim 2, further comprising: selecting anaudio track associated with one of the plurality of advertisements forsimultaneous display; delivering, to the computing device, a portion ofthe audio track for playback during the simultaneous display of theplurality of advertisements.
 11. A device comprising: one or moreprocessors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by theone or more processors, cause the device to: receive, from a computingdevice, a command for controlling playback of a media content; send, tothe computing device and based on the command, a plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; receive, from the computingdevice, a request for playback of at least one selected advertisementfrom the plurality of advertisements; deliver, to the computing deviceand based on the request, at least a portion of the selectedadvertisement; and deliver, to the computing device, the media content.12. The device of claim 11, wherein the instructions, when executed bythe one or more processors, further cause the device to: determine anumber of the plurality of advertisements for simultaneous display basedon a playback speed associated with the command for controlling playbackof the media content.
 13. The device of claim 11, wherein theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further causethe device to: send, to the computing device, a first subset of theplurality of advertisements for simultaneous display; receive, from thecomputing device, a first request for playback of a first selectedadvertisement from the subset of the plurality of advertisements;deliver, to the computing device, at least a portion of the firstselected advertisement from the first subset; send, to the computingdevice, a second subject of the plurality of advertisements forsimultaneous display; receive, from the computing device, a secondrequest for playback of a second selected advertisement from the subsetof the plurality of advertisements; deliver, to the computing device, atleast a portion of the second selected advertisement from the secondsubset.
 14. The device of claim 11, wherein the instructions, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, further cause the device to:select an audio track associated with one of the plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; deliver, to the computingdevice, a portion of the audio track for playback during thesimultaneous display of the plurality of advertisements.
 15. Anon-transitory, computer-readable medium having non-transitory,computer-readable instructions encoded thereon that, when executed bycontrol circuitry, cause the control circuitry to: receive, from acomputing device, a command for controlling playback of a media content;send, to the computing device and based on the command, a plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; receive, from the computingdevice, a request for playback of at least one selected advertisementfrom the plurality of advertisements; deliver, to the computing deviceand based on the request, at least a portion of the selectedadvertisement; and deliver, to the computing device, the media content.16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15,wherein execution of the instructions further causes the controlcircuitry to: determine a number of the plurality of advertisements forsimultaneous display based on a playback speed associated with thecommand for controlling playback of the media content.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the control circuitry to:send, to the computing device, a first subset of the plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; receive, from the computingdevice, a first request for playback of a first selected advertisementfrom the subset of the plurality of advertisements; deliver, to thecomputing device, at least a portion of the first selected advertisementfrom the first subset; send, to the computing device, a second subjectof the plurality of advertisements for simultaneous display; receive,from the computing device, a second request for playback of a secondselected advertisement from the subset of the plurality ofadvertisements; deliver, to the computing device, at least a portion ofthe second selected advertisement from the second subset.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinexecution of the instructions further causes the control circuitry to:select an audio track associated with one of the plurality ofadvertisements for simultaneous display; deliver, to the computingdevice, a portion of the audio track for playback during thesimultaneous display of the plurality of advertisements.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein aduration of the portion of the selected advertisement corresponds to alevel of user interest in the selected advertisement.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereineach of the plurality of advertisements shares at least one contentelement in common with the media content.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein each of theplurality of advertisements comprises a common advertising source. 22.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereineach of the plurality of advertisements comprises a different version ormedia segments of a common advertisement content.